1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to a new construction for a golf club head, especially a head of the "wood" type, as well as to the method of manufacturing such a head.
2. Discussion of Background and Material Information
The golf club used typically at the start of a hole is commonly known as the "driver". It generally has a hollow metallic head with a slight thickness and is constituted by the assembly of several metal elements welded to one another to define a closed inner cavity. Such constructions, described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,438,931, U.S. Pat. No. 5,024,437 and Japanese Patent Publication No. 61-33973, for example, result in clubs whose tolerance cannot be improved beyond a certain threshold due to the critical mass of the head and due to the isotropic character of the material. Indeed, generally it is not possible to add weights to the club head without increasing the mass limit beyond a point at which it is no longer possible to obtain the correct balance for the club and, furthermore, the distribution of mass is very closely linked to the shape of the head itself.
Another disadvantage of this type of head is related to the nature of the material that constitutes the impact surface, i.e., the ball-striking face, which, although enabling a direct transmission of information to the player, provides a disagreeable sensation and sound at impact.
Heads constructed entirely of a composite material, with the exception of the sole, have appeared over the last few years. These types of constructions are very rarely favored by professional golfers because, most often, they are constructed in a single piece by the compression molding method, without any particular regard to the distribution of mass.